Cole was genuinely surprised at how kind and helpful Addison had been to him since they met back up in the Academy. Not only had she believed him regarding his origins and what he and his friends were fighting against, but she had even joined forces with him. This White Mage he had heard stories of from Turo, Sada and Paige was on his side and helping him in ways no one ever had. She'd helped him elude Fateen and her little helpers from abducting him, taken him into hiding in Alfornada and even encouraged him to face his fears by going to the place where (at least in the future) he'd been abused and neglected. Addison saw some kind of inner strength in him and was doing all she could to awaken it.

He'd never been able to feel levels of trust with someone quite like this before, except maybe with Paige. Deep down, he knew he could never repay her for all she'd done for him. Even now, as Addison used a credit card given to her by her parents to pay for their lunch, as he didn't have a cent to his name since coming to this time, if he'd ever had money at all. Despite having nothing to offer her, he knew he needed to pay her back. He had to. Something in his heart wouldn't let him not do so.

So, while the two sat on a bench on the western side of Alfornada, watching as Pokémon and people walked past without a care in the world, he looked to his friend with sincerity. "Addy?"

She looked over to him curiously. "What's up?"

"I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me" he replied. "I mean, you've put yourself in the line of fire for me. No one's ever done that for me before. You took me seriously when I told you about what I've gone through. You keep finding things about me that I didn't even know I had."

She smiled. "That's what friends do, Cole."

"I want to do something for you" he insisted.

Addison shook her head. "You don't have to. I want to help you because I care about you. Believe it or not, despite us only knowing each other for a few months, we've got a lot more in common than you'd think."

"Then you know I want to help you, right? Even if it can't measure up, Addy, I still want to try."

She laughed before patting his shoulder. "I don't think so, Cole. Not that I don't think you can, but the things I need help with are things I need to figure out on my own."

Cole frowned. "You-you don't think I can help?"

"Not particularly. At least at this. But if you do want to help, just keep up with that smiling homework Tulip gave us. And if you ever need a pick-me-up, just know I'm right here for you." The two resumed sitting together on the bench, enjoying the warm summer afternoon air and digesting their lunch. But it seemed Addison could tell Cole was let down a bit by her turning down his offer and quickly tried to reassure him. "Cole..."

"Can you at least tell me something?"

"If this is about how you can-"

"Why did you come here?"

Addison blinked. "Huh?"

"To Paldea. You told me you had a reason you came here. If it's a part of that thing you don't think I can help with, could you at least explain what it is? That way, we'll know for sure if I can't help you." He lowered his head in sorrow. "It's bad enough I can't do anything for Paige and the Professor. If I just need to keep being saved by others, what good am I?"

His friend sighed. "Cole..." She thought for a moment and then looked around to ensure no one was listening in on them. Once she had the sense that they were in the clear, she moved closer to him so she could whisper. "Okay. You at least deserve to know why, especially since you told Morgan and I the truth. No secrets from friends, right?"

"I hope not."

Addison took a deep breath. "I am the White Mage, as you know. I did fight Mewtwo and win, but it cost me a lot of my strength and almost killed me and Galatea. And the victory was not without its cost." She looked to Cole nervously. "It surprised me when you told me you'd keep on the lookout for Ryan when I said I'd do the same for Paige."

"Why? I want to-"

"Because Ryan's not here."

"Where is he?"

Addison kept her head down and squeezed her eyes shut. "He's dead."

Cole was surprised. "Dead? But, then-"

"Mewtwo brainwashed him and made him fight me as part of some sick game of his" she explained. "I was able to beat him and save Ryan from being Mewtwo's puppet, but he was lost in the Realm of Dreams after Mewtwo was destroyed. I haven't seen him in close to a year. You have no idea what it feels like to have a part of your heart ripped away from you and be expected to move on by so many people."

Cole looked away, ashamed of himself for pressing the issue. "I'm sorry."

Addison shook her head. "No need to be. But that's why I'm here. One of the Prophecies that was told in Arcana depicted the tale of the White Mage. And its last lines have yet to unfold. The Bonds of Mind and Heart, Make This Child's Dreams Soar. And even when Darkness Shrouds, Their Love will Open the Door."

Cole was confused, but kept listening to what Addison was saying. Bonds? Heart? Open the Door? I don't get it. He began to try and figure out what these last lines could mean, until he realized something. White Mage...a Door? Why does this sound so familiar?

"I am going to find Ryan and complete this final part of the Prophecy" Addison declared. "And to do that, I need to find the place where lost souls are said to be. Countess Rosemary said I would have the power to find him and bring him home, but the only thing I needed to find out was where."

"La Isla de Blanca" Cole gasped.

Now, it was Addison's turn to be shocked. "What?! You know about White Island?"

"Of course I do. Every kid who grows up in Paldea knows about it."

Addison's shock seemed to dwindle. "Oh, you mean like Nemona?"

Cole smiled. "Actually, I know for a fact it is real."

"How?"

He leaned back on the bench, recalling how he had learned of White Island's existence a few years into his time under Turo and Sada. "Actually, it was Professor Sada who discovered it. Back in the day, a ton of people wanted to make their way to the island to find lost loved ones. But from when I come from, so few people believed in anything anymore that she was able to occasionally make her way to the surface in the hopes of finding out how it worked. When she brought Paige and I up with her one day to see, we all saw it out on the horizon. I thought it was a mirage, but Sada confirmed that the balance of nature had been so far flung since the disaster in Area Zero, that it was appearing more and more often."

Addison looked as if she was in tears. "The legends say it only appears to wayward sailors once a century."

"Not exactly. Professor Sada mentioned something about it appearing every half a century."

His new friend thought for a moment before turning to him. "Wait. You saw it. How far into the future did you come from?"

This was one question Cole could not answer. "That, I don't know. Could have been fifty years, thirty, I'm not sure. The only person who would know for sure would be Professor Sexton. All of this stuff going on now obviously happened before I was born."

Addison took a deep breath and exhaled what appeared to be a year's worth of stress from her. "Cole, even if this isn't concrete proof, it's still the best news I've heard since I met Bridgette back in Arcana."

"If it's Mirage Island you want, I'd be happy to help you find it and Ryan if I can" Cole assured her.

She smiled brightly at this. "Thank you, Cole. And now I'm even more motivated to help you squash this Natalya like the pest she is."

"The only way we can do that is knowing what she's up to. But no one's seen her since we came here. The Professor was tailing her, but lost her upon making it to Mesagoza." He gasped as he suddenly realized the mistake he'd made. "Oh no! The Professor! He must be worried sick about me. I need to get into contact with him." He made to leap off the bench and try to find a way to contact him, but Addison grabbed his arm and held him down on the bench.

"Hold on, Cole. There's no sense in you running yourself ragged over this. First things first, we should figure out how to get into contact with-" She paused and looked past her friend towards the other side of Alfornada. Cole followed her eyes and saw several Uva Academy Security Guards speaking with the locals. He was initially not afraid, but when Addison closed her eyes to delve into their conversation, he realized things were about to get much harder for them. "On second thought, our first thing should be to find someplace safer than this. Those guards were sent by the Academy and I think they're looking for us."

"Do you think those guards are-"

"No, but we can't take any chances. Even if they were sent by the school to discipline us for what happened in the library, that will lead us right back to Fateen. And I'm not taking that risk with you." She rose from the bench. "We need to keep moving."

"Where to now?" Cole wondered. "They may be able to trace us over all of Paldea."

Addison frowned. "I don't know. But we need to keep moving." She closed her eyes and seemed to be trying to contact Galatea. Cole anxiously awaited for Addison to say they'd be ready to go, but it seemed to be taking longer than usual. He dared a glance over towards the guards, who were now marching their way, eyes fixed on the two who might very well soon be considered fugitives. Addison opened her eyes and shook her head. "Galatea's still too tired. We need to think of something else."

"We'd better do it soon, because they're coming for us!"

Addison glanced behind Cole and nodded. "I've got an idea. I just hope this works without Galatea's input."

The guards stopped right in front of the two of them and eyed them suspiciously. "You two! Present your School Identification Tags!"

Cole froze in shock, his hands shaking nervously. "I...uh..."

"Present your Identification Tags now!" the second guard demanded.

Addison stepped in front of the two. "You don't need to see our identification tags." She waved her hand in front of them as if trying to influence their minds. Though both guards were wearing sunglasses that obstructed his view of their eyes, their sudden less fluid motions made Cole realize Addison was indeed succeeding. He recalled how easily he fell for Fateen's mental persuasion and was simply thankful for once that he was on the witnessing side of it for once.

The first guard spoke solemnly. "We don't need to see your identification tags."

"You're searching in the wrong city" Addison insisted.

"We're searching in the wrong city."

"Try Montenevra" Cole whispered to her, hoping to throw them further off their trail.

"You'll find them in Montenevra."

"We'll find them in Montenevra" the second guard concluded, just as somberly as his cohort.

"Run along kids. Stay out of trouble."

The guards looked to one another and nodded before returning their attention to Addison and Cole. "You kids ought to run along, now. And stay out of trouble." Without another word, the two rushed back the way they came.

Cole exhaled. "That was terrifying."

"I don't know how long that will keep them swayed" Addison warned. "We can't take another risk."

"Where will we go?" he asked nervously.

Addison closed her eyes and held out her hand. As if it were the needle of a compass, her hand directed her to the place they were most likely meant to go after Alfornada. Her hand stopped at a large cave entrance outside of the city limits and beyond a sea of wild grass. "There. Once we're settled in, we should make contact with Professor Sexton and the others."

"The others?"

"Tommy and Morgan are in on this as well" Addison reminded him. "And while I'm not too keen on the idea, the adults need to know something is going on around here in Paldea." She eyed Cole sincerely. "We could use all the help we can get."

Cole nodded. "You know better than I do, Addy."

"At least you know we're on the same side" she teased, before grabbing his hand. "Now let's go, before anyone else knows where we're headed." Cole could not get another word in as Addison took off down the path, dragging him along behind her.

{}

Though he had been keen to settle things with the first of Team Star's bosses on his own, it made Tommy feel surprisingly good to have someone who would be rooting for him to take them down in Morgan. Sure, the closer they got to the Segin Squad's base, her opposition to their involvement with this group grew more vocal, but she didn't tell him they needed to turn around and head back to Cortondo or even Mesagoza. If anything, she seemed to be reassuring herself instead of trying to persuade him to drop his vendetta. He didn't know what she needed to worry about. It's not like she was the one who was going to be fighting whichever boss was coming first. The two simply rode their borrowed Cyclizars through the winding roads in Western Paldea, looking for any signs of their destination.

After passing one mountain pass in particular, the two saw two large black and yellow flags that seemed to be warning all non-Team Star members to turn around and go back where they came from. They slowed down their progression upon seeing the flags. but Tommy revved up the Cyclizar and sent it forward, with Morgan slowly following behind him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Morgan inquired as they kept riding towards the Segin Squad's base. "I mean, I know you're a skilled trainer and all, but these guys might be out of our league. Maybe we should turn back and-"

"I didn't say you had to come, Morgan" Tommy answered back. "You volunteered, remember?"

"All I'm saying is-"

"And all I'm saying is that this will help us become stronger. Or at least me. If you want to help Cole beat that crazy Natalya woman, we're going to have to toughen up to begin with. So it makes sense to take on any enemies we can." He knew that while the Pokémon he was raising were slowly becoming stronger, he still needed a bit more brute strength on his side. He knew his Leafeon and Donphan could probably handle whatever this Giacomo guy could throw at him, but having a more balanced team could help in the long run, especially with yet another crazy bad guy running about for them to take down.

"I wish we were back in the days when you would listen to one of us older kids" Morgan lamented.

"I barely listened to Holly back in the day" he reminded her. "Heck, the only reason I got into the Pokémon World Tournament was because I didn't listen to Cameron."

"One of these days, you'll grow up, Tommy."

"Not anytime soon" he declared. "I'll do my own thing as long as I have to." He would have added more, if he didn't hear another Cyclizar coming up from the other direction. He paused their journey as the Dragon Mount Pokémon growled and raced with such speed and efficiency that Tommy had to admit he was in awe. The Cyclizar howled before bringing itself and its rider to a stop in front of Tommy and just up the road from the Segin Squad's base. Tommy and Morgan simply climbed off of their mounts to speak with this...peculiar newcomer.

The rider was a man. He wore a white suit jacket and dark purple pants. He wore what Tommy had to assume was a wig, a golden pompadour that was barely standing tall atop his head. A pair of sleek sunglasses were on his head and he took a moment to run a comb through his wig as if trying to pretend he was letting hair gel run through the fakest toupee he had ever seen in his life.

Tommy and Morgan looked to each other in confusion and second hand embarrassment. They hadn't seen someone dress like this in real life, though Tommy remembered seeing pictures of his father wearing a similar outfit in his more rebellious days as a teenager. Whatever the newcomer thought he was doing to look cool and hip had flopped miserably. And yet, the newcomer didn't seem to care. He simply flipped his hair and gave the two a set of finger bangs with his hands in the shape of guns before nodding.

"What's up?!"

As Tommy was too dumbfounded to even speak, Morgan began. "Director Clavell?"

"Hey, whoa. Who says anything about this Director guy!" Clavell was clearly doing an over-the-top accent to pretend he was some kind of greaser from decades earlier. "I ain't no chud like that! The name's Clive! Just another student at the Academy, yo!"

Tommy felt his brain melting at the sad attempts of the Director to pretend. "You're not fooling us, sir. We know you're Director Clavell."

The man who called himself Clive simply ran his hand through his hair to try and keep the situation cool. "Like I said, my bro and sis, I'm not no narc like this Clavell guy. The name's Clive! And I'm here to help put the kibosh on these punks from Team Star! Word on the streets is that youse guys got a group planning on taking 'em to the cleaners. Good. We need someone tough to teach these punks some lessons. You two, me and good ol' Cassiopeia. We're gonna be a tight gang, ya know?"

Morgan and Tommy exchanged looks before Morgan pulled Tommy aside to whisper to him. "Is...is he serious?"

"I have to think so" he replied.

"Who's gonna not see through this terrible disguise?"

"And how do we know this isn't a trap to get us in trouble?"

Morgan gasped. "I didn't even think of that. Especially since we don't know how much that Fateen woman has to do with all of this. But how do we get him to start acting normal?"

Tommy shrugged. "No idea. But for now, I think we should play along."

"Play along? The guy's delusional if he thinks he doesn't look like an old man trying to be hip. What does he think he is, a greaser? Greasers haven't been around for like fifty years." She frowned in shame. "Then again, I think it might be the only way he lets us pass. If we play along, maybe he'll drop the act around us." She turned to face...this totally not Director Clavell guy named Clive. "So...Clive, was it? Why do you want to help take down Team Star?"

Clive scoffed at this. "Take 'em down? No. I want to understand 'em."

"Understand them?" Tommy asked. "They're bullies, what's there to understand?"

Clive shook his head. "No one just starts bullying, ya know? There's always a reason. And I think knocking some sense into dese clowns may get us those answers. Capiche?" Before anyone could give Clive an answer, Tommy's Poké Gear began to ring, which seemed to initially catch "Clive" by surprise. But he eventually regained his cool and ran the comb through his pompadour. "Maybe you should answer dat, my bro."

Tommy took up the call and his Poké Gear immediately shifted to Speaker Mode. He didn't need to guess who was doing all of this, as he knew only one person was capable of hacking his Poké Gear so easily. He looked to the others and spoke up. "Cassiopeia?"

"Tommy" his ally spoke in the usual distorted voice. "I can read that you're right near the Segin Squad's base. But I can also read that you're not alone. Who's that with you?"

"My friend Morgan and...my other friend Clive."

"Morgan I know from the Academy" the voice replied briskly. "But what's a Clive?"

"Is dat anyway to talk to a friend?" Clive chimed in.

"Operation Starfall doesn't need more people getting their noses into our business" Cassiopeia warned. "If you know what's good for you, you and Morgan will leave Tommy be so he can stop Team Star on his own. I can't guarantee you two will be safe from any reprisals."

Clive's eyes narrowed. "So you think these guys will come after Tommy or his friends?"

Morgan shook her head. "No. I'm helping Tommy, whoever you are. So if you don't like that, then Tommy will be withdrawing from this mission." She looked to Tommy. "Come on. We're going to find Addy and Cole." She grabbed Tommy's wrist and began to pull him back towards their Cyclizars.

"Alright, fine" Cassiopeia declared, prompting Morgan to stop. "But that's only because I need Tommy's help. If that means you and...Clive here are now a part of the plan, so be it." Once they had situated their uneasy alliance, Cassiopeia continued. "Okay, here's the plan. Giacomo may be the weakest of the Base Bosses, but he's not exactly a slouch. You need to beat back his hordes of supporters before he'll show up. And when he does, he'll have a secret weapon for battle. Be prepared for anything. Clive and Morgan, you do the same. Like I said, you never know what Team Star may do to help their boss win."

"How do we know this boss will surrender if he loses?" Tommy asked as he and Morgan exchanged somewhat concerned glances.

"Team Star Bosses have a code of honor" their hacking ally explained. "If one is ever challenged by an outsider, they have to accept. And if they lose, they'll have no choice but to capitulate and surrender their base. Ordinarily, I'd have issued the challenge to Team Star on your behalf, but your popularity at school combined with your previous interactions with Team Star have them all but prepared to fight. They know you're coming."

"You seem to know a lot about Team Star" Morgan noticed, her hand still tightly gripping Tommy's wrist. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"I have...a history with Team Star. If they found out who was behind their downfall, it will end up disastrous for us. And if I can't plan this out, Team Star won't be beaten so easily. We all have our roles to play in this. And while I'm not completely sure I can trust you or...Clive, if Tommy is willing to vouch for you, I'll be willing to let you two serve as backup for him."

Tommy glanced up to Morgan and nodded. "I can do this, Morgan. Don't need you holding my hand or anything. Nemona's taught me well, you know." He glanced over towards Clive, knowing he wouldn't be fooled by the phony persona that Director Clavell was putting up, had to keep up the charade of being a relatively green trainer for the time being in front of Clive. Too much was riding on their enrollment in the Academy. His future, Morgan's future, Addison and Cole being involved in some kind of problem and the need to reopen the borders on behalf of the rest of the world. If he needed to pretend for a bit longer, so be it.

Morgan relented. "Fine, Tommy. But we'll be watching over you in case things go bad."

Clive gave Tommy an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Ay! I've got this! And so do you."

"Prepare yourselves" Cassiopeia warned. "Because I suspect the Segin Squad knows you're coming."

"What does Tommy get in all of this?" Morgan asked. "I don't think he'd sign up for something like this without getting something else in return." She made a nervous glance towards her friend, but Tommy returned her a smile.

"You think I work for free?" he laughed.

"I will send someone I trust from my supply unit to reward Tommy with special materials needed to make TMs on top of a few League Points being transferred over. When I form alliances with people, I keep my ends of all bargains. And Tommy is someone I know I can count on. Someone I know has vouched for him. And I take care of those people. Tommy, I'll contact you again after your fight with Giacomo. Good luck." With that, Cassiopeia ended the call and left the three on their own.

"We got your back, kid" Clive assured him.

"Just be careful" Morgan pleaded before releasing him.

Tommy winked at Morgan. "Don't worry, I got this." He stretched out his arms and marched his way towards the Segin Squad's base. A lone guard stood outside of the tall yet thin gates that wrapped around the entire complex. The guard was definitely a part of Team Star, with the same white helmet and star-shaped sunglasses he'd recalled the goons he'd pummeled earlier having. The guard noticed him coming and smirked. Tommy was not particularly interested in placating them and tried to move past him.

"Hold it, kid!" the guard snapped. "This is Team Star property. Get lost before you regret facing us."

Tommy shook his head. "Stand aside. I've got business with your leader."

The guard looked him over and went pale. "Wait...you're that Tommy kid. The one who's declared war on us!"

"Now you've got the right idea. Now let me see Giacomo and settle this."

"Nuh uh! I'm not going to let you-"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Guess this is gonna go down like this, then." He reached onto his belt and sent out his most trusted Pokémon, his Donphan. The mighty pachyderm let out a trumpeted snarl before slamming its front legs down on the ground, prompting the guard to be flung backwards. "Donphan! Bulldoze!" The Donphan began to spin about wildly before charging forward and completely devastating the gate in front of him. Tommy walked proudly behind his Pokémon as the security alarms began to blare all around him.

"Tommy!" Morgan shrieked. "When did you-"

"Why wouldn't I catch a powerful Pokémon to take out the trash?" Tommy glanced back with a look that reminded her to keep quiet about where his Donphan had come from. He then returned his attention to several Team Star goons hurrying their way to protect their leader. He pet his Donphan on it's side and let him loose. His Ground Pokémon rose up and slammed its feet on the ground, causing a massive Earthquake that knocked all trainers and their Pokémon on the ground in front of him. Not a single Maschiff, Pawniard, Sandile or Impadimp that had tried to stop him in his tracks could withstand one attack from his supremely powerful Pokémon.

"Where does this kid's strength come from?" one grunt cried out.

"We can't hold him off!" another insisted.

"One Pokémon can take out a dozen of ours? We're outclassed here! Call in Giacomo!"

Tommy cracked his knuckles and awaited the arrival of his first obstacle in Operation Starfall. His Donphan growled in anticipation as both Clive and Morgan slowly followed him inside to give him some largely unnecessary backup. He couldn't imagine their leader being much more of a threat than these underlings had been. It wasn't his first tango with an evil group, after all.

Morgan came up to his side and looked sternly down at him. "Since when did you get to use your Donphan?!"

"Since I asked Bridgette if I could" he retorted.

"Why would she-"

"Because she knows how important beating Team Star is to me!" He would have said more had the ground not started to rumble around them. Morgan nearly fell over, but Tommy caught her and gave her a push backwards to avoid her getting hurt. He glanced back towards where the remaining Segin Squad bullies had gathered and saw them parting ways for a massive, hulking brute of a Pokémon. It initially looked like a Revaroom, a local Pokémon that appeared similar to a car engine, but this one had been completely tricked out. It had a large stereo and light system hooked up to its back and seemed to be exuding sheer Dark Pokémon energy as it came into the forefront to challenge Tommy.

And on top of the Revaroom was the man himself: Giacomo. He was definitely one of the older Academy students, taller than Tommy by several inches. He had jet black hair that spiked out on both sides of his head and equally dark eyes. His outfit was a warped design of the original Uva Academy uniform, given his own style behind it with more jet black and gold color schemes. He had a laptop in his hands that was playing his entrance music as if this were more of a concert than a Pokémon battle. He initially seemed uninterested in Tommy and instead played to the crowd.

"Yo yo yo!" he declared. "Seems we've got ourselves a chump who's come to take on the master of vibes!"

"GO GIACOMO!"

"MESS HIM UP!"

"SHOW HIM UP!"

Tommy folded his arms. "How do these guys take him seriously?"

Giacomo finally turned his attention to Tommy. "You've done a real number on us, Party Crasher. I know about you. The kid who's fixed to take on Team Star. You must have some kind of death wish doing that." He flung his arm out at his side and prepared to hype up the crowd some more. "I'm Giacomo! At the deck, I go by DJ Vice! Call me whichever, it's a vibe either way. Nice to meet ya and all, but how 'bout we skip straight to your outtro? Don't worry. I'll play you a sick requiem as you crash and burn! Let's get this party staaaaarted!"

Tommy looked to his Donphan and then back at Giacomo. "Bring it on!"

Giacomo began by sending out his first Pokémon. Though Tommy was expecting him to go all out with this weird Revaroom he was riding, he was surprised to see a Murkrow coming out and cawing at him defiantly. Tommy knew his Donphan couldn't simply use a Ground Type attack to knock a Flying Type out of the sky, but fortunately his Donphan was trained for such opponents.

"Murkrow! Dark Pulse!"

The Murkrow opened it's beak before spitting out a sphere of sinister energy that struck Tommy's Donphan. But the mighty Pokémon took it as more of a glancing blow before quickly recovering.

"Ha! How's that for an openin' track?"

Tommy knew it was time to end this farce. "Ice Fang!" The Donphan rushed forward like an eighteen-wheeler before lunging towards the Murkrow and chomping down on it with the freezing power of Ice. The Murkrow did not stand a chance and fell down as quickly as it had come out to make a move. The Donphan slammed its feet on the ground again, as if challenging the Revaroom Giacomo was riding on to a battle immediately.

Giacomo was not amused by this. "Time to crank this tempo up! This show ain't over yet!" He then sent his Revaroom forward, its sheer size probably being enough to scare less talented trainers. It let out a snarl and spat out a Dark Pulse of its own, but the Donphan ducked beneath it and the blow struck the gate behind Tommy and his friends, prompting both Morgan and Clive to back away.

"Ya like this?" his rival boasted. "This is the Starmobile! No trainer who's seen one has ever shown their face in our business again! Better say your prayers, Party Crasher!"

But Tommy wasn't the same run of the mill trainer that Team Star had been bullying for all this time. He'd seen the real faces of evil in battle before. These guys would never hold a candle to the Syndicate or those Crimson Branded soldiers on Mt. Heatmor or even those cloned Pokémon that had given him the scar on his face. These guys would never be the worst thing he'd ever faced. Bullies never were. And it was time he put this bully in his place.

"Bulldoze!" Tommy declared. His Pokémon rushed forward and the Revaroom charged forward to meet him. Both slammed themselves into one another, but it would appear as if Giacomo's tricked out Pokémon was no match for Tommy's Donphan. Nevertheless, it tried to clash with Tommy's overpowered ace Pokémon to the best of its ability. It even got to push the Ground Pokémon backwards an inch or two, but his ace Pokémon got angrier and pushed back. And with one powerful thrust of his tusks, the Donphan began to rush forward and push Giacomo's ace Pokémon back further and further. "Come on, buddy! Finish this!"

Giacomo began to panic wildly, trying to use his laptop to fix this issue. "Hold up! Wait a minute!"

"Keep it coming!"

The Donphan rose onto its hind legs and let out a trumpet of war before rushing forward and body slamming into the Revaroom, prompting an explosion of electrical energy and the complete and utter breakdown of Giacomo's tricked out vehicle. The Team Star Boss tried to regain control but was flung from his mighty mechanical wonder and landed hard on his backside, the laptop falling towards one of his peons who caught it before it could take any additional damage.

"So much for the Starmobile" one grunt lamented.

"Did we just lose?" another asked nervously.

"That kid is strong" a third commented.

Tommy stepped forward and looked down at Giacomo. Neither contempt nor anger showed on his face. He simply looked down on his opponent and smiled. "It's over. You lost."

Giacomo seemed eager to counter with something quippy, but lowered his head. "Yeah. That's it."

The remnants of Tommy's group came over to celebrate his victory. "Way ta go, Tommy!" Clive declared, his desperate attempts to sound young grating on the boy's nerves. "Ya really stuffed him!"

"I'll admit I'm impressed with your skills" Morgan said happily. "You're gearing yourself up for future tournaments, that's for sure."

Tommy gave both Clive and Morgan a thumbs up before returning his attention to Giacomo. "And in case you think I don't know, Team Star Code demands that when a Team Star Boss loses, they have to surrender their Base and-"

"Yeah I know" Giacomo groaned. "I know the code. I wrote the darn thing, after all. There's no goin' back on it now." He opened up a pocket on his black vest and took out a small badge. It was a simple, obsidian stone on a small golden piece of metal that most Gym Badges were expected to be on. Tommy took it in his hand and felt proud of himself for taking the first step in Operation Starfall.

"Not for nothing" Tommy admitted, "but I think you'd be a great trainer if you just started coming back to school."

"It's not as bad as you guys may think" Morgan added.

Giacomo shook his head. "No way. Not if the bullying problem hasn't been addressed yet."

Clive stepped forward and addressed Giacomo directly. "Hold on a sec, bud."

"Huh? Who're you?"

Morgan and Tommy looked at one another in confusion. "Does he not realize who..."

"A bullying problem?" Clive went on. "From what I've heard, its Team Star doing the bullying. Chasing kids away from the Academy and all that."

Giacomo shook his head. "You got that all wrong, dude. Team Star isn't a bunch of bullies. It goes against our code. The Boss said so."

"Boss?"

"Though all of us are considered equal, including the boss, it was the boss's idea to come up with Team Star. And it wasn't to run around bullying the students of the Academy. Some of the newer kids may be doing that, but that's not what we do. It's just...ugh...not cool, man." Giacomo looked genuinely angry at being accused of being a bully.

"Be that as it may" Morgan commented, "Team Star is causing a bunch of kids to not want to show up to school anymore. Maybe if the team disbanded, the school could become a more inclusive and welcoming place. It would help the school reach out beyond Paldea and to the new world. Do you guys even know that Tommy and I come from another region?"

Giacomo sighed. "I doubt it will help. The others won't back down until they're beaten. That's also a part of the code. But, I will do as it says and stand down. But don't be shocked if Mela or any of the others won't come to try and avenge me. We're the only friends each other has, after all. At least until the Boss returns."

Clive let his hand run through his greased up hair before addressing Giacomo once more. "Who is this boss? A student at the academy?"

"Never met 'em. And I don't think they go to the school anymore. Ever since we set things up to our liking, no one's heard a peep from 'em. I hope they're okay."

Tommy frowned. So they're just looking out for their friends? But what's all this about a bullying problem? I'm so confused. He was about to comment as such, when his Poké Gear began to ring. He looked to the others. "Sorry, but I gotta take this."

"I'll handle the logistical stuff, bud" Clive declared. "You take your call."

"Wait!" Giacomo shouted. "New Kid...Tommy...I just wanted to say...thanks for the battle!"

Tommy nodded and gave him a thumbs up in response. "Let's battle again sometime." He then spun around and headed for the gates to answer his call with Morgan right behind him. He then answered the call, not surprised to see his ally Cassiopeia once more hacking into his phone. Morgan made it to his side as Cassiopeia addressed the two.

"I take it the Segin Squad has disbanded?" Cassiopeia inquired.

"You bet" he declared. "I rolled right through them. And Clive is making sure they actually surrender."

"You should have seen Tommy go" Morgan proclaimed. "He was on fire."

"And Giacomo gave you his badge to ensure the capitulation of the Squad?"

"You bet" he repeated.

"I see..."

Tommy and Morgan looked to one another, concern showing on the other's face. Wasn't their friend supposed to be elated that Operation Starfall was going well? What was with this Team Star drama? Were they on the right side? Was Cassiopeia doing the right thing? Questions that may take a while to get answered. They simply waited for their ally to answer.

"Sorry. Got caught up in my thoughts for a second. I do owe you a reward for helping me out so far, Tommy." Tommy's Poké Gear shined brightly for a second before registering something with a beep. "I took the liberty of adding 1,000 LP to your account. You also now have access to making more TMs at the Technical Machine Creators back in Mesagoza. As for how to make them, I'll be sending a rep from my supply unit to fix you up with materials to make all the basic TMs you'd need. It may take a minute or two for them to get there, so hang tight for a sec. Things will only get harder from here, though. So make sure you've got all the best moves for your Pokémon to use. I'll be in contact about taking on the next base." With that the call ended.

Morgan looked down to Tommy. "Well, you've begun your own adventure, Tommy."

"Yep" Tommy replied as he put his Poké Gear away. "I'm well on my way to getting my Treasure."

"Which is?"

"I want to help my friends get their treasures" he declared. "I'm helping Cassiopeia get theirs, then I'll move on down my list. Cole, Penny, Nemona, Addy, heck even you're on there." He gave her a playful nudge in the ribs. "So, what's your treasure? Is it Cole?"

Morgan's face flushed red. "No! Not at all!"

"Come on, Morgan. I've seen Jeremy's Stoutland drool less over a steak."

"Shut it!" she snapped, playfully slapping the back of his head before collecting herself. "We should be focusing on helping Cole first. With what he's up against, I'll expect we'd all need to chip in a bit. And we'll try to get into contact with Addy and Cole after this supply unit rep shows up." The two stood at the entrance to the former base of the Segin Squad, wondering when their new contact would get to them.

{}

High above the Segin Squad's base, staring down at their quarry from a nearby rock, Brick had brought his newest recruits, former Syndicate Admins Lily and Lena to scope out their targets. Though the two were allegedly professional kidnappers and thieves, Brick needed some additional convincing as the two acted like two dimwitted idiots when he'd first met them. There was too much riding on the success of Mistress Natalya's plans for him to let two greenhorns ruin their plans. He would have dismissed them altogether, had he not seen that both wore on their bodies the Mark of the Tri Drago, a symbol of being integrated within the Tri Drago itself. Somehow, someone higher than him had deemed the two as worthy of being members. He'd have to figure out who it was, as their reputations left a lot to be desired.

While he remained stone-faced as he observed some of their targets outside of some punk group of kids hangout, he also kept an eye on Lily and Lena, both of whom had nervous looks on their faces.

"Why does that kid look familiar?" Lily, the blonde twin, asked of her sister.

"He definitely gives me some flashbacks" Lena replied. "Did we ever go after him in the past?"

"No, but you've encountered him before" Brick replied coldly.

"We have?"

"Thomas Queensbury."

Lena's face went pale. "Wait! The kid's from Arcana?! What're Arcanans doing here?!"

"That kid was friends with Ryan Kingston" Lily shuddered. "I never forget a face."

"Maybe the little runt has seen Ryan" Lena hissed. "I'd love to pay him back for all the-"

"Rumor has it that Ryan is-"

"ENOUGH!" Brick snarled. "Listen up, you two runts! If you two are the 'expert kidnappers' you claim to be, then going after a former adversary should be easy. You know enough about him to draw him into a trap. Once you do that, the rest is smooth sailing. Don't make me regret recruiting you. The Tri Drago may be in a bit of a bad spot thanks to years of poor investments, but don't think for a minute that I won't send you all back to the mudhole I found you in!"

Lily gulped. "Sure thing, boss. We'll have those two snatched up and brought to the base sooner than you can say...well...something difficult to say."

"Just the boy, Lily. Mistress Natalya believes that Miss Augustine will prove useful in her attempts to get Cole and his new friend, Addison Tenton." He rolled his eyes as both twins shuddered at that namedrop as well. "Oh shut it. You two focus on Queensbury. I want him brought to Area Zero before nightfall. Failure will not be tolerated, especially since Mistress Natalya wants to personally punish all who fail us. Trust me, she's not as forgiving as I am."

"What is kidnapping this kid going to accomplish, if I may ask?" Lena inquired.

"We've got plans to have Arcana and Paldea at each other's throats soon" Brick revealed. "To do that, we need a few of the esteemed Arcanan guests in Paldea to disappear. I highly doubt their King will be too pleased to learn that two students and a chaperone vanished into the night. And La Primera won't tolerate anyone accusing her of something she had no part in."

"You want a war to break out?" Lily asked. "Look Brick, from personal experience, you don't want to end up on the bad side of Michael Kingston. Think of how many of our allies got shish-kabobbed by him alone."

"We won't be on the receiving end" Brick insisted. "As long as you two pinheads don't ruin things, tensions between the two regions will skyrocket. Then other regions will get involved. And the dream that Mistress Natalya longs for will come to pass." He took a deep breath and smiled coldly. "It's almost too easy at this point."

{}

After several long moments of waiting around for Cassiopeia's supply rep, Morgan thought she could finally see someone coming from down the road towards them. So much had happened in the last few hours that she was afraid things were just going to get more and more chaotic with every passing moment. Now, with Tommy getting rewarded for his victory over Giacomo, she hoped they could get back on track with helping Cole and stopping this Natalya woman from enacting her plans. Then, once the forces of evil had been quelled, perhaps she could find herself cozying up to her new dreamboat. After all, Cole trusted her almost completely. What's to say he couldn't love her as well?

"We need to get in contact with Addy once you get paid" she told Tommy. "I haven't heard from them since we split up outside of Mesagoza."

"Still so worried about Cole?" Tommy teased. "I think Addy is more than capable of looking after him."

"But she may not be equipped to take on Natalya if she finds out about them. We need to keep in contact with one another, or else we risk getting split up and picked off." That was, in truth, only part of the reason she wanted to find Addison and Cole. Another reason was one of genuine fear. Cole and Addison had spent an inordinate amount of time together since meeting. And Addison had already mentioned seeing Ryan in the boy's shadow. What if this meant more than just a connection over time? What if this meant...

"Well, here comes the supply rep" Tommy declared as the person coming towards them drew closer. He was about to run over to greet them, but skidded to a halt barely a few feet in front of Morgan. "Pe-Penny?!"

Morgan turned to face the newcomer and was as surprised as Tommy was to find Tommy's often reclusive roommate was the one whom Cassiopeia had sent to finish paying Tommy for all his hard work. She slowly made her way up to Tommy, her massive Eevee backpack undoubtedly slowing her down. When the two made eye contact, Morgan could tell Penny was a bit unnerved to have seen Tommy there and even saw a hint of color in the girl's otherwise pasty white skin. She folded her arms and grinned to herself, wondering just what was about to unfold for them.

"You're a part of Operation Starfall?" Tommy gaped.

"Operation Whatzit?" Penny asked. "I'm just helping out a friend of mine."

"You mean Cassiopeia?"

Penny nodded. "Yep. They wanted me to give the one who pummeled Team Star all the materials needed for TM Creation. I guess that means you're in on Cassiopeia's plans too."

Tommy shrugged. "Remember what I told you before. I want to help my friends."

Penny smiled lightly at this. "So I've seen. Good to see you're not just transfixed on helping out Nemona." She reached into her Eevee backpack and pulled out a fairly large sack of Pokémon Materials. "Here you are. A little bit of all the local Pokémon from nearby Mesagoza and Cortondo. You'll be able to make all the most basic TMs out there. The more you help Cassiopeia, the more stuff you'll get."

Tommy took the bag of materials and stuffed it into his own backpack. "Thanks Penny. You're the best."

Penny looked away. "Well, I try. I really should be-"

"How's your own Treasure Hunt going?" he asked eagerly.

Morgan could tell the shy and reserved Penny was definitely not expecting more of a conversation than had already transpired. She seemed to hesitate to answer for a moment, until replying another earnest yet restrained smile his way. "It's going...pretty okay. I just hope it stays that way. I guess I'll see you around." She gave him an awkward wave before turning and heading back the way she came.

Tommy looked from Penny to the sack of materials she'd given him. Morgan finally took the time to approach the boy. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are we all set to go, lover boy?"

Tommy shook his head. "Lover boy? No no no. It's not like that. I just-"

"Tommy" she replied gently, "you can't fool a girl who's felt the warm embrace of a crush. You like Penny. Two girls at once is pretty reckless though, Tommy. Before you lead any of them on, I would make the decision over which one is more important to you." She put her arm around the boy's neck. "Take it from someone who's been in your position before. At least the boy who had to choose between me and someone else made the right call in the end for his own sake. I wouldn't want anyone to be led on for no reason."

Tommy shrugged. "I guess it could help to spend more time with both before I make my decision."

"I know you're eager to do so, but for now, we need to focus on getting to Addy and Cole."

The boy then turned the situation around on her with almost pinpoint precision. "Worried about your own boyfriend?"

Morgan slapped the boy upside the head. "Alright, smart ass. Let's go before I change my mind about helping you." The two whistled for their Cyclizars to come over, as the two were grazing nearby and immediately rushed to support them. As Tommy easily mounted his own steed, Morgan took a moment to prepare herself, thinking of the newest boy who was winning her heart just by being who he was. She could easily admit she'd never felt this way about another boy since the day she was almost swept off her feet by a boy at Lady Bonnie Kingston's Ball a few years ago. This time, she just had to hope that the same roadblock didn't stand in her way of winning his love.